Page 16 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 27, 2024 Saugus Gardens in the Summer Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener N ow that we are on the brink of October, fall displays are appearing all around town. The pumpkin patch at the Congregational Church in Saugus Center is a popular spot, with people selecting their pumpkins as well as little ghost lollipops, ornamental gourds and squash. In addition to the pumpkins, popular fall decorations indoors and out include wheat, barley and cattails, cornstalks and hay bales and late blooming perennials and annuals. Garden Club President Donna Manoogian has some beautiful window boxes with pale orange-pink geraniums (Pelargonium hortorum) in bloom, sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas), dracaena (Dracaena marginata) and a medley of fall-themed decorations. The plants have grown in these boxes all summer, but the addition of the fall decorations change the look from summer to fall. Donna’s entrance garden features a lovely statue of a lady admiring a bird perched on her hand, ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum in bloom and a bench under a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). Many varieties of Japanese maple hold their dark red foliage color through the heat of summer and when cooler weather arrives can turn intense fall shades of orange or red. This is a tree that has a long season of interest because the color lasts for months as a contrast to its green surroundings. The statue is the focal point of this part of the garden and is very appropriate for the nature-loving homeowner. Donna says, “The statue was a surprise 70th birthday gift from my 2 daughters. The party was held at the library’s community meeting room while Books in Bloom was in full bloom.” Some beautiful fall arrangements can be made from flowers grown in your own garden and then dried. The Chinese lanterns from Julia Aston’s garden shown a few weeks ago are perennials that produce new decorations each year, but the dried fruits can also be kept and used for several years’ worth of decorations. Once the flowers of ‘Autumn Joy’ and some other sedum varieties fade, their dark brown seed heads can be left in the garden through winter or can be snapped off and used as dried decorations. Baby’s breath, statice and safflowers are a few blossoms often used in florists’ bouquets that also last very well, not to mention wheat, barley and many grass seed heads. Some plants sold as sumJulia Aston’s Chinese lanterns look great in her tiny woodpecker vase. (Photo courtesy of Julia Aston) Deep blue flowers of hardy leadwort brighten the autumn landscape in the garden behind St. John’s Church in early fall. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Donna Manoogian’s fall window box display features geraniums, sweet potato vine and fall-themed decorations. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) mer or fall annuals are very useful as dried flowers. One of the best is strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum, formerly known as Helichrysum bracteatum), which keeps its vivid flower color when dried. The strawflower is a native of Australia and has been grown since the early 19th century for its interesting papery flower heads. In warmer climates it is a perennial, but is only hardy to zone 8. Flowers may be bright yellow, orange, red or white. Its main disadvantage for dried flower arrangements is that the stems are short, but it is perfect for small vases or teacup arrangements. We see a lot of warm colors in fall, in the foliage and in many of the popular flowers as well as the oranges and yellows of all the pumpkins. Sometimes cool blues, purples and greens will set off these warm colors by their contrast, whether this is the blue sky behind the trees ablaze with fall color or the plantings of blue asters surrounding the pumpkins. Sandy Mears has a stunning ‘Magic Purple’ aster glowing in the sunshine along her driveway wall. Hardy leadwort, also sometimes called hardy plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides), is one of the unusual plants that produces a truly bright blue flower. Several of these are blooming in the garden at St. John’s Church near the back fence. This plant can grow in full sun to light shade, and at this time of year the leaves have begun turning from green to a dark reddish purple, which enhances the blue of the blossoms even more. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant ‘Magic Purple’ aster blooms in Sandy Mears’ garden. (Photo courtesy of Sandy Mears) A short stack of interesting pumpkins and a potted orange strawflower on a porch are long-lasting harvest decorations that can sometimes last until Thanksgiving or even beyond. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town” shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired after seeing so many people taking up walking. Japanese maple, ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum, a lovely statue and a bench to relax and enjoy it all are welcoming features of Donna Manoogian’s entrance garden. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener)
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